Feedback to this site
2000
Many visitors kindly write with queries or reactions to this site. Here I'm reproducing those messages which make interesting points, though I've excluded all confidential material. Maybe visitors to this page can supply answers or information where requested. You may contact me 'direct' or from the 'response page'. The latter is more helpful as I then get a rough idea as to visitors' interests, who they are, why they visited and where they come from!
I accept no responsibility for the reliability of any statements made here.
Letters from non-English speakers are sometimes edited to make them more understandable and atrocious spelling & grammar, usually from the USA, is mostly corrected!
The most recent messages appear at the top of the list below. Owing to internet abuse I have taken the precaution of disguising correspondents' email addresses. To write to any of the addresses below, please remove the word [nospam], including the square brackets enclosing it.
- Subject: Captain's Server
Date: 31-12-2000 20:49
Received: 01-01-2001 0:59
From: Tommy Childress, aflyer98@[nospam]midsouth.rr.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Sir: ... In searching the internet somehow I got to your web site through the search of the word "Christofle" and here we are. While on a recent trip to New York, my wife and I stopped by the Christofle shop [and] while there and inquired about a very nice piece that we have. It is a silver captain's server that has the logo of GTC on the front above the latch to open the top of it. It is in almost perfect condition and we were wondering what you might think the appraised price... might be, or could you refer us to someone else who would be able to help? I have also sent some pictures to help you. Sincerely yours, Tommy Childress.
- Subject: HMS Good Hope
Date: 30-12-2000 17:08
Received: 30-12-2000 18:03
From: ColinArthur@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Do you have a crew list from HMS Good Hope? Also any information on Henry Anderson [of] HMS Good Hope? Thanks, Harry Paton.
- Subject: John Ralli
Date: 29-12-2000 14:52
Received: 30-12-2000 18:03
From: Sheila Barron Smithie, sbarronsmithie@[nospam]skinnerinc.com
To: 'calong@dircon.co.uk', calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, Someone has consigned to us a portrait of a certain John Ralli [Iannis Ralli], said to have been US consul at Odessa circa 1840. Would he be a member of the family whose genealogy you have set out? I could forward a digital image of Ralli if it turns out this may be of interest to you. Thank you for any information you might be able to provide. Sincerely yours, Sheila Barron Smithie, Fine American Furniture and Decorative Arts.
- Subject: Capt. Ian Garrow [exerpts only from this message]
Date: 28-12-2000 12:58
Received: 30-12-2000 18:03
From: WPMasters@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr Long, ...Anyway, you have roused my utmost curiosity as to the letters [Secret Papers] mentioned, especially the shock at not knowing of them before... I thought I knew everything about my grandfather & his correspondence as he was meticulous in his filing of such items & I knew them all. If he held on to these letters he must have had them well hidden & been great at keeping secrets. As for his housekeeper, Jessie Mackenzie, who married Ian Garrow not long after grandfather's death in 1966, they settled finally in Lochearnhead until Ian's death in 1976, & Jessie's in 1980. [She was] a fine lady but I do not understand how she came to be in possession of the letters & their subsequent rescue from the bonfire...
... Also, I am a bit knocked about who betrayed Ian to the Milice/Germans for, though he never referred to the incident directly, Cole seemed to have been the man as it was almost immediately after Cole's altercation with O'Leary, Dowding & the others that Garrow was arrested...
I can also add the bits of uncle Ian's pre- & post-Marseilles [life]: he seemed to prefer hedonistic activities to anything serious before [the war] & obscure anonymity, in Montrose, afterwards until the exposure in a local newspaper following "This is Your Life." [of which] I have the script...
... Donald Caskie was featured with the re-publishing of "The Tartan Pimpernel" a few months ago. Hopefully readers will learn the identity of Captain G, as Donald Caskie referred to Garrow in the book, in a future edition...
... I have read "Safe Houses Are Dangerous" so many times that it has become a bit loose-leaf. This has given me a good excuse to try & get a new copy. It was ironic that your mother's uncle [George Rodocanachi] was born within a few months of my grandfather & both became doctors. Uncle Ian must have enjoyed the similarities...
... The mystery that, I guess, has gone to the grave was why Ian Garrow & Pat O'Leary never met again until the "This is Your Life" & that that was only because my uncle was coerced into it. Even when Pat was on holiday with my grandparents in Scotland, they let him continue in his belief that their son was dead. After all that they shared in Marseilles it seemed very strange...
... Maybe the combination of stories of the two Scots in Marseilles will revive the project of filming "The Tartan Pimpernel". This time I trust that a Scot will be chosen to play the part of Caskie rather than, as originally intended, Richard Todd & that a better casting of Ian Garrow is made than in the Aussie television series of "The White Rabbit". In that they implied that Pat O'Leary had collaborated with the Germans until an outcry had that part removed... Regards & thanks, Sandy Garrow
- Subject: SOE
Date: 22-12-2000 21:51
Received: 22-12-2000 23:54
From: Maurice Christie, M.A.Christie@[nospam]btinternet.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher Long, Further to my letter to you dated 5th March 2000, regarding my father Arthur Christie's exploits in Special Operations Executive at Station 10, Aston, Stevenage. I have now obtained from the Public Records Office the report of the mission that he was on: "Scapula" (PRO File HS1/336) with Killery, Freddie Spencer Chapman, Allan Warren, Trappes-Lowmax and the rest. It is the report made by my father's commanding officer, Major Jim Gavin, in which my father and Trappes are mentioned for doing something unusual. So now, not only have I my father's story but the Official record of it too. Enclosed attachment part copy. Maurice A Christie
- Subject: Captain Garrow
Date: 18-12-2000 1:00
Received: 18-12-2000 13:01
From: WPMasters@[nospam]aol.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, In a casual search through the Internet I came across your site &, naturally, was shocked, by its presence. I knew a lot of what my Uncle [Capt. Ian Garrow] did from the various books on the subject of his work in Marseilles during the War. I was amazed at the revelation of my grandfather & grandmother receiving so many letters from the War Office, etc., for the only one I ever had sight of was the one written in 1941 telling of the situation plus the seaside photograph. I lived with my grandfather (his name was Alexander) for 10 years, my grandmother having died in 1956. How the letters were rescued from the fire in the 1980s is also a mystery to me as my grandfather died in 1966 with uncle Ian organising the sale of the house & disposing of assets, etc. I was there until the final departure from the house... Grandfather was a great hoarder of letters, photos, etc., going back their time in South Africa where Ian & his 2 brothers were born. My parents took possession of most them, but no letters as mentioned. I should love to be able to see those surviving letters, assuming they are available for perusal. I am living in London but intend to be returning to Scotland soon, so an early chance would be much appreciated. I intend to print the contents of your work & study them a bit more. Sadly though, my brother & myself often stayed with him [Ian Garrow] in Montrose where he spent many years in fairly quiet seclusion & when he lived in Lochearnhead in Perthshire until his death in April 1976. We never managed to get him to talk about his exploits except when he had a few whiskies to loosen his tongue. However, he seemed to be under an oath of secrecy for most of what he said was anecdotal. Pat O'Leary seemed to think that he had died just after the War... my grandparents took Pat on a Scottish holiday, which was cut short when he was asked to go to Paris to confirm [identify] Harold/Paul Cole's body. Therefore it was a shock for him when the O'Leary story was featured in the first 2-part This is Your Life in the mid '60s, that Ian Garrow was produced at the end of the show. On the fade-out Pat's words "I thought you were dead," could be clearly heard. My uncle initially refused to take part until the BBC agreed to his demand not to have to say anything. His quiet life in Montrose was over then.
On my initial read through I notice you mention that Elizabeth Haden-Guest was British. She in fact was an American, though married to an MP, who enjoyed reasonable freedom of movement in France while the USA remained neutral. Her son, I believe, is a journalist in New York. Also, you said that Ian Garrow was in the HLI [Highland Light Infantry]. He had been, as Glasgow was its major recruitment area & also his school's Cadet Force was attached to the HLI. However, in 1940 he was with the Seaforth Highlanders which was based in the NE of Scotland where our family originates from. In his Escape Report he did say he was in the HLI but he said that his civilian job was as a farmer. Sadly, not too many farms in the Glasgow city centre where he grew up, was schooled & went to university. The time in prison must have affected his memory. You also mentioned his lack of ability to speak French. He did study the language as part of his course at university. Anyway, the main thing is, if possible, I should love to see the aforementioned letters.
Also, would it be possible to use your work for a submission to the magazine Scottish Memories who, I am sure, will be more than happy to reproduce it in one of their issues. It is long ago that they featured The Tartan Pimpernel [the Rev'd Donald Caskie] on the republishing of the book. Before that, the sacrifice of the 51st Highland Division, at St Valéry, where Ian Garrow started his escape, was also featured. I look forward to hearing from you soon... Regards, Alexander Garrow.
- Subject: London Underground Design
Date: 04-12-2000 14:27
Received: 04-12-2000 16:35
From: Simon James, s.james@[nospam]dial.pipex.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher Long, I'm writing an essay to go in the back of a book of photographs made at the ends of tube lines and have just come across your name while doing a web trawl for information on the architects who designed the underground stations. I'm particularly interested to get hold of information about Leslie Green and also the architects who designed Cockfosters and (I assume the same people) Uxbridge. I wonder can you help? Many thanks, Simon James
- Subject: General Billy Mitchell
Date: 03-12-2000 14:03
Received: 03-12-2000 17:51
From: Emmett Francois, memscan@[nospam]sover.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr. Long: I am a retired US Naval Reserve LCDR living in Middletown Springs, Vermont. One of my childhood friends father served with Billy Mitchell during the post WWl period and flew on the bombing mission of the German ship. Mr. Pierre Vuille had some information that sheds some light on the character of General Mitchell that you might find interesting. He also flew with a squadron flying border patrols between Mexico and the US. I audio-taped an interview that was done on his recollections at the Teterboro Aviation Hall of Fame with the museum director Pat Reilly in the 1980's. An article appeared in the Bergen Record of Hackensack, NJ, on Mr. Vuille as a result of that interview. If you have any interest in this please contact me and I will endevor to get this information to you. Very nice job on the web page. LCDR (Ret.) Emmett Francois
- Subject: Prisoners of War of the Japanese
Date: 30-11-2000 14:33
Received: 30-11-2000 18:54
From: megan mills, msmills@[nospam]ican.net
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Dr. Long, Thanks for posting what you did on the Net some time ago with regard to former prisoners of the Japanese. Cheers, Megan S. Mills, PhD., Toronto.
- Subject: An Excellent WebSite
Date: 29-11-2000 20:28
Received: 29-11-2000 21:16
From: Philip Chinnery, Phil@[nospam]chinnery49.fsnet.co.uk
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Congratulations on your website. Would be interested in a copy of Sherri Ottis' thesis when published. Mr Philip Chinnery, historian, National Ex-Prisoner of War Association. Website
- Subject: SAARF & Operation Vicarage
Date: 19-11-2000 16:23
Received: 19-11-2000 21:27
From: Chris Tomlinson, Tomlinson_Uk@[nospam]btinternet.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I am currently researching an organisation that MO1 (SP), set up with SHAEF in the summer of 1945, with the aim of producing an article and possibly a book on the Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force. I am already well in to a stack of declassified file material from the PRO. I was just wondering whether you knew of some good published source material on the SAARF and Op Vicarage? I know Jock Haswell's, British Military Intelligence makes mention of Brig. Nichols' force. Chris Tomlinson
[Presumably prompted by Secret Papers and Clandestine Operations]
- Subject: War Service in France, Sylvia Maureen Malkin
Date: 18-11-2000 13:54
Received: 19-11-2000 21:27
From: Collingwood Intermediate, collingwoodinter@[nospam]actrix.co.nz
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, I am currently researching the war service of my mother-in-law Mrs Sylvia Maureen Weston, née Malkin, and after visiting your web site I hope that you may be able to help or advise me on certain aspects. Sylvia Malkin as she then was resided in France as a civilian at the outbreak of the 1939-45 conflict with Germany. It would appear that she made herself useful to the allies and was involved in an escape organisation to assist with the escape and evasion attempts of service personnel. This escape organisation was apparently carried out under cover of a dance hall. As a result of her betrayal by pro-axis French she was taken captive and interned in France unfortunately I do not know where the internment camp was. She subsequently escaped with another woman who was killed during the attempt. Sylvia returned to the UK via the French Resistance. I believe, but have no confirmation of the fact, that she was awarded a French decoration. She served in the Womens' Royal Naval Service during 1943 and 1944, when she was discharged on medical grounds. She then joined the Womens' Royal Volunteer Service and served in Palestine and Egypt between 1945-48, where she was awarded the Palestine Medal. I hope that you will be able to help me in this matter. My email address.
- Subject: George Zarifi (1816?-1884)
Date: 17-11-2000 0:00
Received: 18-11-2000 16:43
From: Murat Hulkiender, mhulkiender@[nospam]hotmail.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr. Long, I am attending a Master's education at Marmara University, at the Department of History. The subject of my theses is George Zarifi, mainly his financial relations with Ottoman State. This study is based on the documents found in Ottoman Archives. Also there are some other important sources for academic research, like the contemporary journals published in nineteenth century Stanbul. I am just going on collecting these materials during the previous three years. I wanted to learn whether could you produce any supplements for this study, like bibliographical references, specifically upon the Zarifi family... [he then kindly offers a correction to some spelling on this site]. I will be glad with receiving your reply. With my respects, Murat Hulkiender.
- Subject: Mitchell Family History
Date: 09-11-2000 19:58
Received: 09-11-2000 23:27
From: croftcroyne, croftcroyne@[nospam]ntlworld.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello Chris, I stumbled on your Mitchell family history. See [our pages] and go to the family history bit. (I need to move to dispose of that address!). I have a Mitchell tree going back along way (identical to yours!) but never posted it. Perhaps you have provided me with the impetus! I never know the best format. Our site has info on Mitchells/Goldthorps/de Groote and a few links. I will put in one to yours. Cheers, Steve Goldthorp.
- Subject: Web Site Feedback
Date: 03-11-2000 18:16
Received: 04-11-2000 23:03
From: Julian Camilleri, julian.camilleri@[nospam]virgin.net
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hi there, Just to let you know that on smaller screen resolutions, the feedback link in the right hand pane is inaccessible. There's no scroll-bar for that pane that I can find. Maybe this would explain why you aren't swamped with hourly feedback for you excellent site. Many thanks, Julian Camilleri, UK
[There are other links to the Feedback page elsewhere and a 'no frames' option is available on every page. Only a small proportion of responses to this site are published]
- Subject: About Louis Nouveau
Date: 27-10-2000 16:18
Received: 27-10-2000 18:24
From: Keith Janes, ksj@[nospam]guskuhn.freeserve.co.uk
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, [further to previous correspondence regarding Escape & Evasion lines in France in World war ll] ... As for pictures, I have quite a few of my dad with various French people including the families he stayed with and most of the girls he knew to one degree or another, as well as the three other army escaper/evaders. I say three because there was a third man, George Pearson, who had attempted an earlier escape together with Arthur Fraser, along what was probably an embryo Comète line in May 1941. That one went pear-shaped at Corbie railway station [near Amiens] and they were lucky to get away. George refused to try again and remained with his French lady-friend until his arrest sometime in 1942, when he then betrayed several of the local families who had sheltered them. I know for sure that Helen's father died in the camps, her mother spent the rest of the war in prison and Helen herself was jailed for a year and that Yvonne François, who had sheltered my dad and Fred, was also imprisoned. Both families believe George was responsible for that.
The man my dad seemed to like so much was Louis Nouveau himself although originally the reference to his son confused me. I mentioned before that dad left his diaries with Louis and I believe that is why he was able to name my dad (with the correct spelling) when he came to start his list of visitors the other members of the party are not included.
According to your mum's book [Safe Houses Are Dangerous], Jean Pierre Nouveau left Marseilles for Spain on 7th March 1941. At the Public Record Office I found the MI9 debrief of a Lt R. L. Broad of 2/Seaforths who remembered meeting Jean Pierre at Miranda [prison in Spain] in April 1941 and says he was travelling as a French Canadian and using the name Bedard hence the reference to 'Peter Bider'. (PRO Records: WO208/3303 MI9(b)/S/PG (-) 284-270 App.C)
... [the rest of the message concerns personal matters]... Best wishes, Keith
- Subject: WWll Mitchell Bombers & Gen. Billy Mitchell
Date: 22-10-2000 3:44
Received: 22-10-2000 12:49
From: Maryann, snafutoo@[nospam]frontiernet.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello Christopher, ... It seems we are close in age as I too grew up in the 1950's however, without the thrill and delight of viewing and hearing those wonderful war-birds of Biggin Hill. How unfortunate that so very few of these spectacular ships can take to the air today. I am hunting the internet for a good condition copy of Hurley's book [biography of Gen. William 'Billy' Mitchell]. It seems that there are copies available and I hope to acquire one soon.
The aircraft that I am associated with would not be able to make a cross-ocean trip [to the UK]. It puts hundreds of airframe hours on the ship and power-plants, is exceedingly costly and requires special insurance. Museums and private operators generally cannot support that expense and equipment stress. However, there are occasionally a few that do make the trip with sponsors and good luck to make such a trip in a 55+ year old aircraft. Boing is currently sponsoring the restoration of a B-17F model in Seattle, WA. and is not likely to help out on a non-Boing product (the Mitchell was produced by North American Aviation, Inc., long out of business). The B-25 Mitchell bomber was designed by North American in August 1940. It was produced as a 'medium' bomber (a 'heavy' being a B-17 and B-24) and was popular with both the US and its allies. It has been hailed as one of the best medium bombers: production of this versatile twin-engine aircraft totalled over 11,000, of which slightly more that 9,800 carried the US insignia while the balance equipped the air forces of the Allies, mainly Britain and the Soviet Union. The B-25J model was the final version, built in the greatest numbers. The B-25J had a crew of 5, a range of 1,350 miles, maximum speed of 272 mph, and carried 12 machine guns. This range, however, would not get the bomber to deep penetration missions into Germany and was therefore used as a medium range bomber. Attached are photos and the sound of music of the B-25! Keep in touch! Best Wishes, Maryann
- Subject: 13th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment
Date: 09-10-2000 11:17 pm
Received: 10-10-2000 8:20 am
From: Iain Hood, jp.hood@[nospam]lineone.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Your site interested me as I am looking for any information concerning the 13th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. Apparently my grandfather was in this regiment when they were fighting at Guillemont, Somme. He died there 18th August 1916. I have not yet found a report confirming this and wondered if anyone can offer any suggestions. Eileen Fisher.
- Subject: Update! plz
Date: 07-10-2000 12:27 am
Received: 10-10-2000 8:20 am
From: The Leigh's, jr.leigh@[nospam]sympatico.ca
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, My name is Cameron and I have a very real interest in history, in particular World War l. In reading your web page I find myself more informed about the events and The Somme during WWl, but feel I must inform you that I am offended at your neglect to mention Canada and, in turn, my family's sacrifice in the not-so-great war. Canada as you might or might not know lost 24 000 men at the end of the Battle of the Somme. At Vimy Ridge four Canadians won the Victoria Cross for their bravery, a Major even being granted a Knighthood. Australia, Belgian, France, Germany and Britain were all mentioned; the second Ypres was also mentioned the first gas attack ever and no Canadian reference! Other than that, I enjoyed the read a little biased maybe. But don't feel bad: my grade nine history text was as one-sided. Lee & Enfield was the best and only one thing left to say: Billy Bishop! Cameron Leigh
- Subject: Somme Thiepval Education Centre
Date: 07-10-2000 11:09 am
Received: 10-10-2000 8:20 am
From: Zetaline, zetaline@[nospam]globalnet.co.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I wanted to let you know about a charitable project that has been set up to provide an education centre at Thiepval (Somme), next to the memorial to the missing. Its aim is to enable visitors to the memorial to learn about the fate of the soldiers who gave their lives there. It is a joint initiative between the French and the British and needs to raise some monies to enable it to go ahead. It has a website which explains its purpose and the progress to date. Thank you. Carol Nubbert carol@[nospam]zetaline.globalnet.co.uk.
- Subject: Shirts
Date: 04-10-2000 4:01 pm
Received: 05-10-2000 9:14 am
From: Micro, tomas@[nospam]tomas.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
I hope you don't mind me emailing you. What do you personally think of Thomas Pink shirts ? Having read your article titled 'Tale Of 1,000 Shirts'. I was interested in your views of this relatively new company. Thanks, Mr Vine, London, W2
- Subject: Jounalism Question
Date: 31-08-2000 9:34 pm
Received: 22-09-2000 1:48 pm
From: Bruce Sizemore, brucesizemore@[nospam]hotmail.com
- To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Do you know who coined the symbol (30) to end an article? Thank you for your time.
- Subject: HMS Implacable
Date: 30-09-2000 2:46 pm
Received: 02-10-2000 11:04 am
From: The Training Ships Site, trainingships@[nospam]yahoo.com
To: Editor @ JTN, Calong@dircon.co.uk
I saw your article on HMS Implacable. Do you have any other information about her final end? Andy, TS2000
- Subject: Captain E. F. Floege
Date:27-09-2000 2:29 am
Received:27-09-2000 12:59 pm
From: Karla Floege, floege@[nospam]mindspring.com
To:Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, I found the following on your website: "...hero of the Resistance: Captain E. F. Floege...". I am the last surviving son of a Frank Floege, born in Chicago, Illinois, 1923. My father was Frank Floege, married to Agnes Floege, who died about 1929 or 1930. My father disappeared under mysterious circumstances before I was born. Could there be a connection, because many rumors circulated that my father was involved in some kind of resistance movement. If you have any information, I would much appreciate hearing from you in regards to this. Thanking you in advance, Warren Floege.
[See related message from Gilles Darondeau, below on this page]
- Subject: Billy Mitchell and B25 Mitchell Bombers
Date: 20-09-2000 1:46 am
Received: 20-09-2000 1:47 pm
From: Maryann, snafutoo@[nospam]frontiernet.net
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello Mr. Long, Wow! I don't know where to begin this message! And I have never e-mailed anyone outside the USA before, so this is exciting too. The power of the world wide web... I just finished reading your article on Billy Mitchell. It is most difficult to find detailed information about his life so I was delighted to find your composition on the web. Most of the biographies about Mitchell are out of print and nearly impossible to obtain. I absolutely love aviation history, flying and warbird restoration. I am extremely fortunate to be involved in restoring a B-25 Mitchell bomber (in North Carolina) and have flown my friends' B-25s (Panchito based in Cambridge, Maryland and Killer Bee based in Kissimmee, Florida). After my extensive involvement with B-25s, I just had to know more about its namesake, Billy Mitchell. I would like to know if you have more information or would know where I might obtain a copy of Hurley's Billy Mitchell, Crusader for Air Power. Any additional information or articles would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Maryann Rowe, Rochester, New York USA.
P.S. By any chance, are you observing or participating in the Battle of Britain 60 year displays and events? It is quite a memorable event in history.
- Subject: Delville Wood
Date: 14-09-2000 04:47
Received: 14-09-2000 11:13
From: Margaret E. Ruston, PanthersP@[nospam]worldnet.att.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Christopher, I just wanted to commend you on your informative website. I have searched for details on the South African epic at Delville Wood [Battle of The Somme] and have found more detail on your site than any other source to date. I had just purchased The First World War by John Keegan and he mentions the epic briefly, but I was wanting more detail. My grand-father was from Scotland, went to South Africa in the late 1800's and lost a son in this battle. The family always talked about the war, and it was only about a year ago, that I was able to find his name on the War Memorial, and finally understood about Delville Wood. I have learned more about WW1 in the last two years and it was largely due to persons like yourself, devoting your time to educate people about the horror of that war. Thanks!
[And later: "Thank-you for your response. I can see by your website, that you are busy. I finally found a book that appears to have been written by a South African, about Delville Wood. I have asked a contact in South Africa to see if that is still available. It is: Rollcall - The Delville Wood Story, Uys, I.,1991, 302 pages, 24x15 cm., Uys Publishers. I will also check out the book and video that you recommended. Keep up the good work. Margaret.]
- Subject: Croil Family
Date: 30-08-2000 17:54
Received: 31-08-2000 09:20
From: Anderson, Croil, anderson@[nospam]schroeter-goldmark.com
To: calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Chris, ... I am a member of the Croil family. My great-grandmother was Louisa Alice Croil and she married Harold Ault. Louisa was the daughter of John Croil and Minerva Augusta Robertson if I read the family tree correctly. I have a family tree prepared in 1906, a privately published book on the Croil families, an autobiography of James Croil, a number of old family photos and a drawing which appears to be of an old family Croil house on a river... The line continues... Sincerely, Croil Anderson.
- Subject: Genealogy Rallis of Chios
Date: 30-08-2000 10:08
Received: 31-08-2000 09:20
From: Pierre Lagonico, lagonico@[nospam]iprolink.ch
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, I am George Michel 'Boysie' Zarifi's cousin. I appear on the Zarifi family Genealogy, number 128. In your very precise Ralli Family Genealogy I tried to find a trace of my grand mother, Sapho Ralli (1855-1939), a Ralli of Chios who married my grand father Jean Lagonico, in Alexandria , Egypt, around 1888... [he offers genealogical assistance]... Pierre Lagonico
- Subject: Paul Rodocanachi
Date: 29-08-2000 21:15
Received: 31-08-2000 09:20
From: MOwens35@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr Long, Many thanks for your [help] re Basil Ionides. In case you can help, I am very interested in writing an article about Paul Rodocanachi for Architectural Digest. Very little is known about him, at least in English publications. I do know that he worked with the furniture designer Jean-Michel Frank in the 1920s and 1930s, and that he also designed at least one ballet, costumes and scenery. My best guess regarding his birth year would be approximately 1870, based on his 50ish/60ish appearance in an early 1930s photograph of him in the company of Jean-Michel Frank, the artist Christian Berard and the sculptor Giacommetti... [he then asks for help in contacting members of the family ... who knew Paul Rodocanachi and might be available to talk about him or have any memorabilia associated with him, his life or his career. Many thanks, Mitchell Owens
- Subject: Basil Ionides
Date: 28-08-2000 01:35
Received: 29-08-2000 09:28
From: MOwens35@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr Long, Under a hugely pressing deadline, I am writing a brief article about Basil Ionides, or, more particularly, a famille noir bowl he once owned and which graced Ionides's porcelain room in his house at Berkeley Square. Could you please call me, collect if you wish, tomorrow, Monday? I would so like to ask you some questions about Mr Ionides and his family, so as to place him properly and accurately, in an historical sense. Many thanks. Mitchell Owens, The New York Times.
[See also: The Ionides Collection]
- Subject: Rodocanachi Roidi
Date: 24-08-2000 08:39
Received: 24-08-2000 12:50
From: Alberto Almagioni, atoms@[nospam]tin.it
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, My name is Alberto Almagioni and I am son of Dorothea Rodocanachi Roidi. Looking for some relatives on the internet I found your site. I'm very interested by the story of my family so if you like I can give you some notice about the Rodocanachi all around the world. My grandfather, Jean Rodocanachi, has a very exhaustive genealogy of the Rodocanchi family. By my self I can tell you the "1911 Unknown where: Stamaty Rodocanachi" was the brother of my grandfather: he lived in Genoa and in Mexico and he died some years ago. As far as I know I can suppose that Lucia Rodocanachi was in fact Lucia Morpurgo married Rodocanchi: if this is true she was a very important woman for the culture in Italy. She was a translator for the editor Einaudi and co-operated with Eugenio Montale (Literature Nobel). This is what I can tell you for sure here and now but, if you like I can collect more information asking to my relatives. Sorry to bored you and also for my terrible English. Ciao, Al.
- Subject: Fanny Psicha
Date: 23-08-2000 22:35
Received: 24-08-2000 12:50
From: worldPM, o.vervuurt2@[nospam]chello.nl
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hi, I am Orlando from The Netherlands and I want to know if the name Fanny Psicha is known by you. Thanks, Orlando.
[... and later, on 10-09-2000]
I have a painting [by] Fanny Psicha, She seem to have been born in Belgium in 1854 and went to the Netherlands where she lived the rest of her life. I am interested in what she painted in her life time, Orlando Vervuurt.
- Subject: Ian Garrow My Grand Uncle
Date: 11-08-2000 02:54
Received: 24-08-2000 12:50
From: martingarrow, martingarrow@[nospam]ukonline.co.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Thanks a billion for posting your article on the net relating to my great-uncle Ian Garrow. I found it very interesting and I feel very proud of my uncle's contribution to fighting Nazi evil. However I spotted a minor error, insignificant to others but significant to me. You identified my great-grandfather as Dr 'Alistair' Garrow. However, his first name was in fact 'Alexander'. Please could you rectify this mistake. If you would like to research more about Ian Garrow from his family's point of you I would be happy to co-operate. Yours sincerely, Andrew Garrow, Glasgow.
- Subject: Elvire Rodocanachi & Prince Gustav
Date: 21-08-2000 17:27
Received: 22-08-2000 16:15
From: Dag T. Hoelseth, hoelseth@[nospam]hotmail.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, I am a Norwegian genealogist working on the ancestry of Mlle Elvire Pasté de Rochefort, who is engaged to marry HSH Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, according to the press announcement from the Danish Royal Court 16 August 2000. Mlle Elvire's mother is Hélène Rodocanachi and therefore I have read your website and Rodocanachi Genealogy with interest. You will find the first chart of Mlle Elvire's ancestry at my website. My sources are mentioned at the page. I note from your website that you have more details than I have collected. Could you please allow me to use information from your website, as long as the sources are stated and a link to your page is provided? If you should have any advice on the spellings of the Greek names, I would be pleased to hear them. I look forward to hearing from you. In advance thank you very much. Yours sincerely, Dag T. Hoelseth
- Subject: Britain At War
Date: 20-08-2000 23:37
Received: 22-08-2000 16:15
From: SDMCGIL@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I'm always amazed when I think about the casualties suffered at the Battle of the Somme. You Brits suffered nearly 20,000 dead in one day over a third of what we Americans suffered throughout our 8 year war in Vietnam. And still the men kept fighting. Popular culture makes much of the military prowess of the Germans. But from what I've read, I don't think any country in the last thousand years can match Britain in its resoluteness. For better or worse, the British are pretty tough nuts. Do young Brits today compare themselves with their great-grandfathers and wonder how they would stand up in similar circumstances? Here in the U.S. we young people are 'rediscovering' the valor and sacrifice of our WWll vets. I'm wondering if it's the same in Great Britain. I really don't know if you'll get a chance to read my message, but I found your site interesting. I'll be back. - Steve McGilvary from Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
- Subject: Rodocanachi & A Family Tree Obsessive
Date: 15-08-2000 20:34
Received: 16-08-2000 16:46
From: David Martin, azureus@[nospam]btinternet.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I'm a descendant of the Sakoleva ,my great grandmother was Vierou Rodocanachi, I was wondering if you had any information or contacts that could tell me about reunions or associations that involve my family. I have researched my family tree for the past 12 years and have found your site a great help. I wish to thank you for that. Yours sincerely, Christine Hersey.
- Subject: Vlasto in Greece
Date: 15-08-2000 20:06
Received: 16-08-2000 16:46
From: timav, tima5@[nospam]e-free.gr
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, My father had sent me about six months ago, a print out of your page, but you must have updated and have changed the pages. You had information to present day about the Vlasto family. I can't seem to find that information now. [See: Diaspora 2]. My name is Tima Vlasto, I am the granddaughter of Solon Vlasto, (The Atlantis newspaper), daughter of James Vlasto who resides in New York. I have been living in Greece for the past 17 years. I never knew about the Chios connection. I have had the Les Vlastos book in my bookcase for many years and always believed that the family's descent was from Crete. You site is very interesting. Would love to hear from you. Tima
- Subject:Love To Help
Date: 10-08-2000 16:30
Received: 14-08-2000 13:36
From: Rodocanachi, Stephen J., Stephen.Rodocanachi@[nospam]SouthernEnergy.Com
To: 'calong@dircon.co.uk', calong@dircon.co.uk
Have you seen the book The Rodocanachis of London? The 2nd edition has the comments of my grandmother Irene Petrococchino Rodocanachi of Suffolk, England. It was written by a Bishop of Chios [Bishop Timothy] at the last wish of one of my very old relatives. Give a call. I would love to catch up! Stephen J. Rodocanachi, Atlanta, Georgia.
- Subject: Chios & USA Family Trees
Date: 06-08-2000 05:43
Received: 14-08-2000 13:36
From: Cathy Baylock, cathyb@[nospam]baylock.com
To: 'calong@dircon.co.uk', calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, I've scanned over much of your research and am amazed by the depth of your family's history in Chios. My extended family and I just returned from a wonderful first time visit to the island to seek out my grandfather's family in the village of Kini (in the Mastichordia). My grandfather left seven siblings when he emigrated to the US in 1915. He settled in San Francisco and only now are we making efforts to research our own family tree. We were able to locate many cousins, though most of the young ones have moved on to Athens to attend University or to work after finishing their studies. My 29 year-old cousin , Georges, has just finished his residency and will begin working at the only hospital in Chios. In any event, I wanted to let you know that we had a fabulous stay at the Hotel Grecian Castle just south of Chios town. I'm very pleased I did not find your website until after our trip as we found absolutely no evidence of the sort of behavior you encountered (thank God). We found the people generous and friendly, so perhaps your letter to the Embassy did make a difference. Again, congratulations on your fine research. I have book-marked your site and will refer to it often. Kind regards, Cathryn Baylock, Burlingame, CA USA (just south of our beautiful San Francisco)
- Subject:Chios Incident
Date: 02-08-2007 21:37
Received: 14-08-2000 13:36
From: Keith Bendell, ben.stirnajoslin@[nospam]virgin.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I read, with great interest, your document regarding your unfortunate 'Chios incident'. My son has recently returned from Kos where he experienced a not dissimilar incident, involving police, with threats of beatings/shootings (yes!) and where he was forced to part with £250. I would be interested to hear if you have had any resolve to your circumstances. Kind regards, Keith Bendell
- Subject: Billy Mitchell
Date: 31-07-2000 12:34
Received: 14-08-2000 13:36
From: RPFaiola@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr. Long, Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Ray Faiola. I am Director of Audience Services for CBS-TV in New York. I am also producer of several motion picture soundtrack albums and am currently in the process of producing a soundtrack album to Dimitri Tiomkin's score to The Court-Martial Of Billy Mitchell. Since the musical score is brief (34 minutes, which includes music not used in the picture), I will also be including dramatic moments from the film. My reason for writing is, first, to congratulate you on your excellent Billy Mitchell website and, second, to ask permission to publish your website address within the accompanying CD booklet. I'm sure we will have not only Tiomkin fans pick up this album, but military fans as well and I think that the historically curious in our audience would appreciate your website. While I don't anticipate this album to be released for several months (I've only just completed editing the score), I would be glad to send you a complimentary copy when it is ready. Again, congratulations on a very informative site. Kindest regards, Ray Faiola, NYC.
- Subject: Scaramanga
Date: 28-07-2000 22:42
Received: 14-08-2000 13:36
From: De Ridder E-mail, Gent@[nospam]vivant.be
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, I have a painting executed by a Mary Scaramanga in 1903. This painting represents a fisherman. Could this painter be related to the famous Scaramanga family? Thanks for your answer and still at your disposal for any further information. Guy De Ridder.
- Subject: Your Mother
Date: 28-07-2000 16:38
Received: 28-07-2000 16:43
From: Keith Janes, ksj@[nospam]guskuhn.freeserve.co.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, A personal question, is your mother Helen still alive, and if so could I have an address, e-mail or otherwise, so that I might contact her? The reason is simple. I have recently compiled the wartime diaries of my late father and found that he travelled down the Pat Line [World War ll escape & evasion line in France]. His name is mentioned in your mother's book Safe Houses Are Dangerous as one of the few Louis Nouveau recalled before starting regular records of the men passing through his home. I intend to publish the diaries, a complete story of his war up to capture at St Valéry, rescue by French civilians at Divion, then living as an evader in the Pas de Calais area for fifteen months before being led to Marseilles by Paul Cole and finally getting to Gibraltar and home. The diaries were written 'live' up to Paris and then left at Marseilles, eventually being returned by post by Louis himself in 1945 (his return address is stamped on the back of the envelope) and the rest of the story continued in a resumé written at Miranda and Gibraltar. I have already met with some of the people mentioned in the diaries but want also to be able to recount the fates of other characters that he met: i.e. Abbé Carpentier, Louis and Paul Cole, etc., as historical notes. I don't intend to try and add anything to the history books but I do have an excellent first hand account of the Pat Line in action (plus another much shorter account from someone else in the same group). I have already had regular correspondence with Sherri Ottis on the subject and it was she that recommended Safe Houses in the first place. Thank you Keith Scott Janes (son of Peter)
- Subject: Eugenie Ralli Calvocoressi
Date: 13-07-2000 06:59
Received: 14-07-2000 12:43
From: Michael Mekeel, omp@[nospam]pacbell.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
My grandmother was Eugenie Ralli, who married Leonidas John Calvocoressi, who worked for Ralli Bros in New York although he was born in London. My mother, Helen, is still living and has a great memory at 89, but she's not in great health. She lives in Connecticut (USA) I scrolled through [the Ralli Genealogy] and did not find our branch of the Rallis. We were at the reunion at Yolanda and Roy Calvocoressi's in Feb '99 in London. Write to me (Fran) at omarch@[nospam]pacbell.net if there are some questions I should ask my mother. We also have many photographs from the turn of the century which we won't be able to identify once she is gone. By the way, where do you fit in?
- Subject: Question: Bond Street
Date: 08-07-2000 12:47
Received: 09-07-2000 11:06
From: Aleksandr Feldman, alf@[nospam]delfi.lv
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hi! Please help me: How long is Bond Street? Aleks.
- Subject: Family Names
Date: 16-07-2000 17:17
Received: 18-07-2000 11:26
From: jean piret, piret@[nospam]worldonline.nl
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Mr Long; I am Jean Piret from Delft, the Netherlands. I am doing research on the history of my grandparents who went to Russia to build a steel factory in the period of 1896 to 1919. They were Belgians. The steel plant was built in Taganrog in Southern Russia on the sea of Azov, not far from Rostov on Don.The name of Jean Scaramanga appeared as a rich Russian trader, and Belgian vice-consul in Taganrog. He died in 1902 and had at least one son, Michel. I think I also saw the name of Mavrogordato in the papers I studied. I thought your site might give some information but I can not open it. Is that so or is it me making a mistake?. Are these both family names of Greek origin? Hoping to hear from you, greetings, Jean Piret
- Subject: The Vlasto Family (2)
Date: 13-07-2000 07:36
Received: 14-07-2000 12:43
From: Vrasidas Karalis, vrasidas.karalis@[nospam]modern.greek.usyd.edu.au
To:Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, Thank you deeply for your response and you interesting feed-back regarding Petros [Peter] Vlasto. I am wondering if you know any descendants of his living in England at the moment? And in your Vlasto genealogy (no 205) on Peter Vlasto, you give the information that his wife was Aziza Ralli. Is it Ralli or Palli? The Greek bibliography talks about Aziza Palli, the daughter of Alexander Palli, mother of the famous intellectual and merchant from Manchester and Liverpool. Is there any evidence about the Palli family? I am rather confused. All the best, Vrasidas Karalis
[He had good reason to be confused. My error has now been corrected. The answer is Palli!]
- Subject: The Vlasto Family (1)
Date: 07-07-2000 03:05
Received: 07-07-2000 09:04
From: Vrasidas Karalis, vrasidas.karalis@[nospam]modern.greek.usyd.edu.au
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr. Long, First of all I would like to congratulate you for your excellent and superb web site on the Vlasto family. I am really impressed not to say fascinated with the history of the family and the whole work you have done. I must tell you that I have found some extremely important information in your site about Petro Vlasto. I am currently preparing the collected edition of his works in Greek and I would really appreciate your feedback on this. Petro Vlastos, despite his sometimes paradoxical ideas, was and still is one of the most important intellectuals of Greece whose work has not been fully appreciated because it is scattered and uncollected. I have already written in Greek an extensive study of his work and I have signed a contract with the Ouranis Foundation in Athens for the publication of his works in two volumes essays, poems, short stories. What do you think? Congratulations again, Dr Vrasidas Karalis, Sydney University.
- Subject: Ian Garrow
Date: 02-07-2000 00:35
Received: 04-07-2000 09:06
From: Ross Coffey, rexam@[nospam]ozlinx.com.au
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, My name is Anne Coffey née Garrow. Ian Garrow was my father's brother Dr Gordon Garrow. I am now living in Australia and was just searching the web to see if I could get any information on my family history and came across your article. I only met Uncle Ian on about two occasions. I had heard some of his war stories from my mother but, because of Uncle Ian's struggle with civilian life, he was rarely mentioned in front of us. I remember as a child watching This Is Your Life for Airey Neave and Uncle Ian was asked to be the surprise guest. I just wanted to say thank you for the article and that it will be a very valued addition to my collection of memoirs of the Garrow family. Kind regards, Anne Coffey (annie_coffey30@[nospam]hotmail.com)
- Subject: HMS Otranto
Date: 27-06-2000 14:38
Received: 29-06-2000 08:56
From: kinmar, kinmar@[nospam]ntlworld.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Just for your info... We have been given a table with the following inscription: 'Made by the Hughes Bolckow Shipbreaking Company, Blyth, Northumberland, of teak taken from the SS Otranto'. I have found your pages [Battle of Coronel] most interesting as it has put more meat on the bones of the history of this unfortunate ship. My 14 year old son is especially grateful for any info received on this ship and his now famous table! Kind regards, Mike King
- Subject: Chios Visit
Date: 27-06-2000 05:02
Received: 27-06-2000 08:57
From: johngil, johngil@[nospam]cancun.com.mx
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Sir, I have read your warning about visiting Chios Island. I visited Chios three years ago and have had the intention of going there once again this coming October. Please inform me if the situation you describe has changed for the better or if there is still reason to be apprehensive about a possible visit. Sincerely, Blake J. More
- Subject: Secrets of the Tube System
Date: 23-06-2000 20:24
Received: 26-06-2000 08:53
From: edhumphreys, edhumphreys@[nospam]breathemail.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Re: Article: Mayfair Times November 1988 Secrets Of The Tube System. In your first paragraph [Ghosts Beneath Our Feet] you state that there is a ruby-red entrance to a subterranean and ghost-filled vault in a side street off Shepherd Market in Mayfair. Can you tell me which disused station this entrance leads to and exactly in which street the entrance is located. I maintain a data base of all disused LT stations and I have no knowledge of any disused tube entrance around Shepherd Market... Many thanks, E. W. Humphreys
- Subject: Joyce Marie Long
Date: 19-06-2000 20:06
Received: 20-06-2000 11:10
From: Susan Rose, susan@[nospam]lschuhco.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I am trying to locate information on a Joyce Marie Long. I believe this to be her maiden name, her married name was Curtiss. I would appreciate any information. Thank you so much, Susan Rose.
[Not apparently related to this Long family.]
- Subject: Escape from Colditz
Date: 12-06-2000 12:30
Received: 13-06-2000 09:01
From: Simon Pitts, simonpitts@[nospam]hotmail.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello. I found your site very informative. However I am looking for information regarding a story I have heard... from what I consider to be a professional and reliable source: that an officer who was in Colditz escaped by faking a mental illness. After keeping up the act for sometime he was sent back to England under the Red Cross agreement. When he returned his mind was so used to his mental illness that he couldn't switch off from it. He was diagnosed with the mental disorder that he had invented. Do you know the whereabouts of any information regarding this matter? I am interested as a close member of my family may have a similar disorder and any information will be a great help. Thank you for your time, and correspondence would be greatly appreciated. Simon Pitts.
- Subject: The Sixties
Date: 02-06-2000 21:06
Received: 02-06-2000 23:32
From: Francis Pettitt, fpettitt@[nospam]hotmail.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hi Christopher, A nostalgia for the Sixties, fuelled by a bottle of Spanish plonk, propelled me to your [Sixties] page this Friday night. Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed your piece and really felt I'd entered into the soul of what it was like then (I'm a '48 baby). Your final paragraphs on the clothes (oh so important) were almost sublime. For what it's worth here's something I wrote about my stay as a student in Cambridge during those times. As with you... it was '67 that was the coming together of it all! Warm regards, Francis Pettitt.
[He then offers us his verse:
Advent: Angel voices sing over a harp's wave - / they echo from a fan-vaulted chapel / while marsh winds howl outside the nave / and rain rots autumn's last fallen apple. // Could those caftan summers by the river / be so far away? Interstellar sounds / across the meadows as our souls quiver / to an ecstatic dance and Love abounds. // Fresh burgeoning passion, too quickly scorned / in this darkling season of the earth - / youthful times that are often mourned - / but was there truly faith in our re-birth? // Even in delight's garden there are fears / and strange herms cast shadows beyond the years.]
- Subject: The Somme... 80 Years On
Date: 26-05-2000 04:39
Received: 26-05-2000 13:02
From: NormanTater@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Great article... a real mouse turner. A lot I didn't know. Really made me think. All those deaths... for what? I think most Americans have that dreamy nostalgia for 'Uncle Frank' also!
- Subject: Flags On The Western Front, WWl
Date: 26-05-2000 03:43
Received: 26-05-2000 13:02
From: Conor/Jill O'Hare, ohare7040@[nospam]home.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
My grandfather fought for the British Army in WWl. It has always been of interest to me. I would like to thank you for the site [The Somme]. It is very informative and very well presented. Having said that, I must take issue with your statement regarding the growing number of flags appearing along the Western Front. It is not jingoism at its worst. On the contrary, the flags symbolize the citizens of that country's gratitude to the hundreds of thousands of young men that fought for peace. The Allies were many nations who came together and died together for what they believed was a just cause. The French fought with the British, who fought with the Canadians, who fought with the Belgians... I'm afraid you have been too quick and too simplistic in interpreting the true meaning of these symbols of pride. It's not so much a pride in one's country, but pride and admiration for its people's contribution to stand together with other nations to achieve a common and noble objective.
- Subject: Veterans of Laverock School
Date: 17-05-2000 19:02
Received: 17-05-2000 22:17
From: Andrew Blamey, ajblamey@[nospam]freeuk.com
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
I don't know quite how I ended up on your site but why worry. Today is my sister's birthday and to find her name [Sarah] amongst your old mates at Laverock School was just an amazing surprise. She thinks she remembers you and thinks you shared the bus together down the dear old A25! She is living near Bath now. If you want to hear more about her and many of the other names on the list, email her. P.S. I want to go on the list: I was at the school I think '58 to '60!!! A J Blamey. Andrew J Blamey Associates
- Subject: The Somme
Date: 12-05-2000 02:26
Received: 12-05-2000 20:03
From: Mike & Lorraine, hemi@[nospam]one.net.au
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
A Great Site I am from Australia and found your site was a true dedication to all soldiers of all armies. Michael.
- Subject: Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
Date: 08-05-2000 17:24
Received: 10-05-2000 09:15
From: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D., vaknin@[nospam]link.com.mk
Reply-To: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D., palma@[nospam]unet.com.mk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Just visited your interesting site. Thought you might find the following of interest (apologies if I am imposing). I maintain extensive web sites regarding Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (mainly the Balkans). I would appreciate it if you could add them to your links. Additionally, feel free to re-print any of the articles with the appropriate credit and link-back. [He then lists several web addresses] You can also search my entire site and click on the words 'Search My Site' (in blue text). Thank you again, Sam
- Subject: Searching For Relations On The Western Front
Date: 07-05-2000 11:16
Received: 07-05-2000 21:02
From: G.Pidcock, g.pidcock@[nospam]btinternet.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr. Long, I have been researching the lives and deaths of my two maternal uncles: Leonard and Gearge Ashworth. I have found your site very informative, particularly in relation to the Somme where my uncle Gearge died from his wounds in 1915. I have traced the course of the war from the viewpoint of my uncle Leonard and visited the memorial on which he is commemorated (at Ploegsteert near Ypres) in April. Your info on the Albert area is much appreciated and will be useful for my visit there. Regards, Gordon Pidcock
- Subject: George Eumorfopoulos
Date: 30-04-2000 15:13
Received: 30-04-2000 17:19
From: Judith Green, j.green@[nospam]sussex.ac.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I would like to find out as much information as I can on George Eumorfopoulos. I am hoping that you can help me. I am researching early twentieth century collectors of Chinese ceramics and came across your wonderful site while searching for background information on George Eumorfopoulos. Unfortunately, your Scaramanga genealogy is not available at the moment and I know I will find information there. I have reconstructed what I can from the Ralli genealogy (into which Erato Scaramanga married) attached, please let me know if this is right! Can you tell me the relationship between Mariora Scaramanga (George Eumorfopoulos's mother) and other branches of the Scaramanga family. I know that George Eumorfopoulos was vice-president of Ralli [Brothers], but do you know whether his father (Aristides) was also in the Ralli firm? Am I right to assume that George Eumorfopoulos had Chiot origins on both his maternal and paternal sides? I notice that the name Eumorfopoulos does not appear elsewhere in the various genealogies. Thank you for your help, Best wishes, Judith Green, University of Sussex
- Subject: Letter From Churchill
Date: 23-04-2000 19:17
Received: 24-04-2000 14:53
From: Shelley Squance, shelley.squance@[nospam]virgin.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
On the death of my uncle last year I discovered a letter from Sir Winston Churchill. The letter would have been written to my parents who had obviously written to Sir Winston offering thanks and congratulations at the end of the war [World War ll]. I have put the letter away for safe-keeping. Are there many hundreds of such letters about? I certainly appreciate how much it would have been valued by my parents and I can recall many tales of his leadership ( I was born 1951). But I doubt ,when I am gone, that my children will appreciate the value of such a document.
[Presumably prompted by the item on Chartwell. Perhaps a letter of this sort should be lent to a local museum for public display until the children are old enough to appreciate its significance and reclaim it...]
- Subject: Albert, Somme
Date: 21-04-2000 21:44
Received: 22-04-2000 00:23
From: Nils, fabiansson@[nospam]swipnet.se
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I enjoyed reading The Battle Of The Somme 1916, London News Radio, 01-07-1996... [he then mentions a broken 'link']. I am planning to go to the Somme this summer; I went there last summer and the summer of '95... Nils Fabiansson, Sweden.
[... and later...]
I forgot I suppose you have been around The Somme a couple of times [many, many times, in fact!]. I have been there just twice. You maybe know some places you can recommend? I am actually an archaeologist but work as a teacher now and worked as a journalist before) and my major interest is in the material remains of the war [World War l]: i.e. the landscape, villages, trenches, craters, ruins and other traces on the ground, artefacts in the dirt and so on. I also read the war book writers, and I would like to visit those place mentioned in Blunden (Jacob's ladder, Leipzig Redoubt), Sassoon (Mametz Wood), Graves (Mametz Wood) and Jünger (Guillemont -16, Rossignol Wood/Copse 125 -18) around the Somme. I have heard that Rossignol Wood and Gommecourt are worth visiting. What do you say?
[I have replied to this, but other visitors' recommendations would be welcomed...]
- Subject: Photos of Nancy Wake
Date: 20-04-2000 06:31
Received: 20-04-2000 11:31
From: carla@[nospam]nzedge.com
To: calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I really enjoyed visiting your website [Secret Papers]. It is very well written and an excellent source of information. Our website NZEdge.com has a short biography on Nancy Wake. We had some difficulty in sourcing photos of Nancy and we have included your picture of her, with Capt. Ian Garrow and her husband Henri Fiocca, in the biography on our site. We have acknowledged your site as the source and provided a link to your website. I hope that this is agreeable with you. If it is not, please advise and we will remove the picture; or, if I need to obtain permission from someone else could you please let me know who that might be. The purpose of NZEdge.com is to raise awareness of New Zealand and promote it's positive aspects and also recognise achievers... I look forward to your response in due course. With kind regards, Carla Hofler
- Subject: SOE
Date: 17-04-2000 21:53
Received: 18-04-2000 10:07
From: gdarondeau@[nospam]free.fr
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, First of all, I would like congratulate you for your wonderful site about the WWII and especially the SOE. My father (born in 1933) spends now a lot of his time to look for information on Resistance groups... He asked me if the internet could help him in his search... and fortunately, I found your site. I read carefully your document and I tried to find the book of the French bibliography, with no success... In your document you wrote that many of the SOE papers are now held by you. I do not know if you can read French, but I am ready to send you what I have found on the net and also a copy of a paper written by my father about a hero of the resistance: Captain E. F. Floege. Tell me if you are interested. I look forward to reading you. Best regards, Gilles Darondeau
[In fact I hold only a few dozen of the MI9 documents relating to Captain Garrow]
- Subject: SOE & Sir Colin Gubbins
Date:14-04-2000 16:00
Received: 15-04-2000 00:16
From: david foster, dffwebmail@[nospam]yahoo.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Christopher... I recently ran across your web site and was very impressed. Far more depth than most of the sites out there; clearly a huge amount of work. I am a writer whose current project involves the women of SOE [Special Operations Executive] a story which is almost totally unknown in the U.S.A. (Writing is a second career for me; I have previously been a technology executive and am currently on sabbatical from the industry). I noticed that your site referenced to a recorded interview with General [Colin] Gubbins, but there didn't seem to be any way to download it, which I assume probably has to do with copyright restrictions. Do you know of any way I can get a copy of this recording? Regards / David F. Foster.
- Subject: Pat O'Leary Line
Date: 07-04-2000 23:21
Received: 08-04-2000 00:18
From: brigitta@[nospam]libertysurf.fr, brigitta@[nospam]libertysurf.fr
To: Editor @ JTN, CALong@dircon.co.uk
... Please, I don't speak English. I hope to find how to know the nom-de-guerre [code name] of Jules Gosse, who worked in the [French] Resistance with my father near Ste Catherine-les-Arras, at Beaumetz-les-Loges...
[Can anyone help?] and later...
Cher Christopher, Merci beaucoup de me répondre et de me donner ces adresses. Je vais les contacter. Je suis en train d'écrire un livre. Mon père est mort en déportation pour sauver la liberté en faisant passer des aviateurs anglais. Je veux garder pour l'instant cette histoire pour moi... j'ai besoin de retrouver petit à petit mon père au travers des rencontres... Si je suis tranquille sur ce point alors après je pourrai en parler. Je suis très contente que vous écriviez sur ce sujet et je pense que nous avons beaucoup à apprendre l'un de l'autre.
and later again...
Merci de votre message. Etes-vous le petit-fils (ou le fils?) d'Helen Long? J'ai failli la rencontrer à Besançon il y a plusieurs années. Elle était passé la veille au Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation où j'arrivais par hasard le lendemain: nous nous sommes ratées. J'ai eu les références de son livre "Safe Houses Are Dangerous"... à bientôt Christopher avec mon amitié.
[Yes]
- Subject: Search for WWll Escapers, Evaders & SIS/SOE Veterans
Date: 05-04-2000 19:28
Received: 05-04-2000 20:07
From: Stewart Kent, kent@[nospam]atlas.co.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, Would it be possible for you to publish my request for help on your web page please?
Request for help: For the past six years I have been conducting research on the SOE & French Resistance in the north of France, Lille & Arras in particular and the Pas de Calais region. Not wishing to bore your readers with too much detail I have had tremendous help from many sources, spent weeks at the PRO and have travelled to Belgium, Ireland, Greece and France (the latter 4/5 times a year) to interview people and inspect archives. I hope to publish a book later this year based on the life and times of Michael Trotobas, the British leader of the SOE group in Lille known as 'Farmer' or 'Sylvestre'. Currently I am investigating working links between SIS in Belgium and the SOE in Lille.
As a side issue, the group also handled a number of airforce evaders between December 1942 and June 1944. This included: 72 Americans, 34 British, 2 Canadians, 1 Australian and 3 of unknown nationality. Many evader and escapee reports (2,000) are still in US archives and not available in the UK. I have examined all those that are in the PRO and have been in contact with the UK/US/Canadian & Australian Escape Societies, with little success in tracking down certain air crew, their next of kin or articles/books that may tell their story. I understand that not everyone joined an Escaping Society [e.g. The RAF Escaping Society] after the war.
If any of your readers have any suggestions, recognise any names or know of any next of kin or articles on any of the following I would like to hear from them. I have very little to go on other than names and the fact that they were all helped by 'Farmer', either through Lille or Arras. Many were helped by the Bourgogne Line [Burgundy] which I think originated in Belgium and was run by Georges Broussine, alias 'Jean Pierre', and Yves Alain, alias 'Gregoire'. Does anyone know anything at all about this escape line or two SIS groups in Belgium: 'Bayard BB' & 'Banco 3'? The names:
(US=American CA=Canadian UK=British): Cyril or Clarence Notherall or Motherall (US/CA) Bill Dumsday (US/CA) Nathan Wildman Robert Shanney Howard Sherman Robert Stockburn (UK have traced) Jean Legrand (RAF French?) Thomas Huxton (RAF Irish) Len Rukin (UK) Olaw Forland (CA) Ralph Davies (UK) Ray Wilkinson (UK) John Primett (UK) Collen Taylor (UK) Frank Pessyguil (USA/CA) Maurice Bemrose (UK) Daniel Murray Norman Fairfax (UK have traced).
If any names ring a bell or you have any suggestions please email me. Many thanks and best regards, Stewart Kent
- Subject: The Balkans
Date: 03-04-2000 19:52
Received: 03-04-2000 22:11
From: (Requests anonymity)
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I'd like to express my thanks at having found your site. It's by far the best site about Balkan affairs I've found so far.
- Subject: French 'Helpers' Betrayed
Date: 01-04-2000 02:25
Received: 01-04-2000 02:34
From: Kent Ltd, kent@[nospam]atlas.co.uk
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Your web site is most interesting. My French mother was living south of Lille in 1941. She and her mother were betrayed and arrested in October 1941 for helping evaders and escapers. My mother spent 9 months in prison. My grandmother was deported and died in Ravensbruck. They met Pat O'Leary and the notorious British traitor [Paul] Cole. The German V man, a Dutchman working for the Gestapo, Cornelius Verloop, was responsible for their arrest and those of many other French patriots. He was arrested in 1945 and sent to England for interrogation. It was recommended that he be "prosecuted and sentenced to death". However he was repatriated to Holland where he lived happily until old age. His papers have only recently been released at the PRO. I suspect that he was employed by either the American or British secret services in return for immunity from prosecution! Well that is just a short personal story that your readers may be interested in. Best regards, Stewart
PS I'm not sure if it is on your book list but Turncoat by Brendan Murphy is a great read on Cole; my grandmother gets a brief mention.
- Subject: Portable Studio Mixer
Date: 29-03-2000 11:41
Received: 29-03-2000 15:53
From: DeltaBcast@[nospam]aol.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Are you selling this item [Portable Studio] that I came across on your website? I would be interested in finding out a bit more about it. Andrew J Bantock MIBS, Delta Broadcast
- Subject: Obscure Query
Date: 30-03-2000 10:36
Received: 30-03-2000 13:22
From: McCarron, Christian, Christian.McCarron@[nospam]gs.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hi ... I wonder if you would be able to help at all. I'm an ex-student of an excellent English teacher by the name of Patrick Carpmael who I'm attempting to get in contact with after 10 years - after I left the school at which he taught. Said school (Reigate Grammar) have no contact details for him and the only record I can find on the net is that his name comes up in your page about Laverock. Now this may be another Patrick altogether, but the fact that the age is about right and that he lived in the Reigate area tends to suggest it may well be correct... Now, many years on, I would dearly love to be able to contact Patrick and express how significant his role was in shaping what I have done since... My apologies for taking up your time - if you can help in any way I would be extremely grateful, but if you cannot, or if this is totally the wrong person anyway, you have my thanks for taking the time to read my mail. Many thanks, Christian.
[Does anyone know where Patrick Carpmael is now? If so, contact Christian.]
- Subject: Genealogy: Zarifi & Vlasto
Date: 28-03-2000 04:45
Received: 28-03-2000 18:23
From: Mallet, Bertrand, Bertrand.Mallet@[nospam]bain.com
To: calong@dircon.co.uk
I am the grandson of Georges Mitaranga and son of Nancy Roques, who are cited in your magnificent work on the Zarifi family genealogy. You will find attached some information which I hope can help you in your work. Thanks to your efforts, I am discovering all about this branch of my family. Thanks again, Bertrand Mallet
- Subject: The GreekAmerican Newspaper
Date: 20-03-2000 21:02
Received: 22-03-2000 00:03
From: gkam@[nospam]greekamerican.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr. Long, I was wondering if it would be possible to reprint a portion of your Massacre of Chios article... for our March 25 (Greek Independence Day) edition of The GreekAmerican. I realize this is very short notice, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could reply as soon as possible. The GreekAmerican is an English-language weekly published in New York, with a national (US) distribution. Please advise us of the fee you would charge if applicable. Thank you for your attention to this matter... your permission to reproduce your superb piece will really help me out... Best Regards, Constantine N. Kolitsas, Editor.
- Subject: Mavrogordato information?
Date: 09-03-2000 21:00
Received: 09-03-2000 21:42
From: mggire@[nospam]libero.it, mggire@[nospam]libero.it
To: Christopher A Long, Calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I am trying to write a genealogical tree of the ruling houses of Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania, since XIII century to 1866 (Musatin, Besarab, Mavrokordatos, Ghika, Kantakuzenos, etc.). If possible, could you send me any documentation about these dynasties internet sites, book titles, etc.? Thank you in advance for the attention. Yours faithfully, Matteo Girelli
- Subject: SOE
Date: 05-03-2000 10:10
Received: 05-03-2000 18:29
From: Maurice Christie, m.a.christie@[nospam]btinternet.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher Long, I have just visited your web site and have enjoyed reading about SOE. My father (web site) was a member of MI6(R) and SOE. Regards Maurice A. Christie.
[and later, 11-03-2000 14:39, following a question from me to him...]
I have spoken to my father regarding those Top Secret notes and discovered what they are. As a consequence I have added one more paragraph [to his site]:
"Some of the firms that supplied us with equipment were well known. Bryant and May, matchmakers, supplied us with fuses. Lighter fuel flasks were fitted with tapered ends covered with phosphorus so that when struck they exploded. Lucas delivered silver tubes about 2" long with a detonator fitted in the end that we filled with plastic explosive. These were to resemble pipe-work and when placed next to hot surfaces eventually exploded. Coal was drilled and filled with a quarter a pound of explosive so that it could be thrown into the coal bunker of a train, and then to the fire. This was shipped over to France. A bow and an arrow with a magnesium end to launch into food crops."
See more, Regards, Maurice.
- Subject: Coracles
Date: 02-03-2000 05:53
Received: 03-03-2000 15:32
From: Michael Simington, simington@[nospam]telus.net
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello. I am writing a novel and need a little help. Can you tell me whether the leather on coracles was treated with bitumen, tar or pitch to waterproof it in Anglo Saxon times? Thank you for your help in this. Mike Simington
- Subject: Wally Lashbrook & Comet Line
Date: 26-02-2000 23:58
Received: 27-02-2000 00:34
From: Ken Arnold, tearnold@[nospam]erols.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Good evening Christopher, I am doing a profile of Wallace Lashbrook, a Halifax pilot, who escaped via the Comet Line in 1943. He is still alive and will be in the US in a few weeks to visit his daughter in Florida... I also have contact with two of his surviving crew members. May I have your permission to use some of the data from your page? My site is here under the UK flag.
[He quotes the section he would like to use.]
Also, if there is any site where I may find photos of escape kit items. I would appreciate knowing about them. Regards, Ken Arnold Turnersville, NJ, USA.
- Subject: Re: Escape Books Information
Date: 21-02-2000 21:59
Received: 22-02-2000 15:52
From: M.M. LeBlanc, white@[nospam]castle.on.ca
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
I don't think very many people are expert in this area of evasion line history [in World War ll Europe]... at least I've not found them and I've been searching for years. That's what makes the subject so fascinating. It is all pioneer work at the moment (rediscovery, that is) and, best of all, so much information is available for the trouble of simply looking at archival records. By all means, if you or anyone wishes to refer to me for help, please do so. If I can help I will. All the best, Michael.
- Subject: SOE Polish Unit
Date: 21-02-2000 20:39
Received: 21-02-2000 20:52
From: Angela Cookson, acookson@[nospam]sfo.csun.edu
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I have just come across your website and find it extremely interesting and well-done. I believe my father was a member of the Polish SOE [WWll Special Operations Executive] unit but I can't find much about it. Can you or any of your readers enlighten me or at least point me towards a possible research direction? I plan a visit to the UK this summer and intend to spend some time in the Public Record Office and any other place that might be helpful. I have access to books by both Foot and Garlinski but have found very little else. Thank you and warm regards, Angela Cookson
and later (25-02-2000 21:24)...
I have to say that my father spoke very little about what he did during the war and the family, including my mother, actually know very little. He died in 1977, before I was adult enough to start asking the questions one never thinks to ask when growing up. Among his effects are a set of parachute wings which I recently discovered were the insignia of the First Polish Parachute Brigade but additionally, my mother believes he was part of SOE. He was seventeen when the war broke out, worked with the resistance in Lwow, was captured and sent to Siberia by the Russians, was transferred to a prison in Penza (I think the name is correct), marched down to Iran to meet up with Gen. Anders when Polish prisoners were released under the guise of forming a Polish Home Army. From Iran, he went by ship to England and up to Edinburgh where he trained at Edinburgh Castle. I have photos of him there. He was trained as a tailor so that he had a cover if he were captured behind enemy lines, and we believe he had some kind of martial arts training. He also spoke of night time training exercises where they infiltrated English villages [see: SOE & Beaulieu]. Beyond that, we know nothing. In the early days of my parents' marriage and even when I was growing up, he always said the less we knew, the better off we were... Sorry this turned out to be so long, since I'm sure you're very busy. Any help you can give me, however, is very much appreciated. Warm regards, Angela Cookson
and later again (29-02-2000 18:30)...
Christopher... My brother writes from Germany that, after speaking to several members of the Polish military who are quite familiar with the history of Poles during WWll, it seems my father may have belonged to a group known as 'Cichociemni', equivalent to today's Special Forces, trained to operate independently behind the lines for long periods of time. After the war, many of them were tried in Poland as war criminals by the communist government but are considered today to be heroes. I expect you are familiar with this group, but I had never heard of them and it certainly opens new areas of research. Thank you again for your help. Warm regards, Angela Cookson<
- Subject: Escape Books Information
Date: 18-02-2000 12:45
Received: 18-02-2000 17:37
From: M.M. LeBlanc, white@[nospam]castle.on.ca
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello CAL. I've just revisited your site again to check your [WWll Escape & Evasion] bibliography. Since I didn't see it (quick scan), I wondered if you are aware of the book Des Capitaines Par Milliers by Louis Nouveau. I mention this because my library was able, recently, to find a copy of it for me. There are some wonderful lines about 'Dr Rodo' [Dr George Rodocanachi]...
Thanks to your web site, John Clinch whose two aunts and grandmother were involved in hiding evaders early in 1941 and suffered for it, being among the very first Comète Line arrests contacted me. Together, we've sorted out his relatives' place in escape line history and continue to learn more about them, their associates and the men they helped. Michael Moores LeBlanc.
- Subject: Diaspora
Date: 17-02-2000 22:36
Received: 18-02-2000 09:57
From: Nereo Castelli, nereo.castelli@[nospam]adriacom.it
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr Long, I have found your excellent site and I have immediately searched the Skaramanga genealogy to find the page still under construction. However I have some questions: I am living in Trieste and one of my ancestors arrived here with his mother from Chios in 1821. He was Leonis Zizecli, son of Ioanis Zizecli and of Smaragda Skaramanga. I presume he was a refugee from the massacre. I know almost all the subsequent passages but I am completely in the dark in respect of the previous history. Do you have anything in respect of this Smaragda Skaramanga? Or for the Zizecli family? I thank you in advance for any help you may give. Yours sincerely, Nereo Castelli, Trieste, Italy
- Subject: Re: Mustapha Kunt
Date: 17-02-2000 18:14
Received: 17-02-2000 18:17
From: Ulo Melton, meltdown@[nospam]sewergator.com
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
Re: Mustapha Kunt:
the Usenet group Urban Folklore has been looking it over, and somebody pointed out it's written on a typewriter with proportional spacing. The letters 't', 'l', 'i', and 'f' take up less space than other letters (especially evident in words like 'little'). It appears IBM first introduced a typewriter with proportional spacing in 1944, about a year too late for the Mustapha letter. Somebody else has found that Archibald Clark Kerr was indeed an ambassador to the Soviet Union at that time, but his middle name is mis-spelled "Clerk" on the letter.
All in all, it looks like the sort of thing that's classified as Xeroxlore, the photcopied humor that gets passed from office to office. A lot of it seems to have taken on new life with the Internet. This really is one of the funnier ones I've seen, though. Best regards, Ulo Melton.
- Subject: In Search of Peter Wilson
Date: 16-02-2000 18:26
Received: 16-02-2000 20:21
From: Sig Mejdal, Sig_Mejdal@[nospam]Vantive.com
To: calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello, I am trying to get in touch with Peter Wilson. A year ago I agreed to purchase a photographic reprint from him, but when I got back to him his address had changed and I lost contact with him... your site is the best lead that I have. Do you have any contact info for him? He is listed as contributor (47) on the World Magazine page. Thank you very much. I look forward to hearing from you. Sig.
- Subject: The Libro d'Oro
Date: 13-02-2000 17:15
Received: 15-02-2000 20:06
From: Xenos, xenos@[nospam]primus.ca
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
I am doing the Xenos genealogy. I have learnt that the Venetians wrote a Golden Book (Libro d'Oro) in various areas that they occupied. Could please let me know the area that your Libro d'Oro refers to and if you do not have it, where it is located? I thank you in advance for the information. Hoping to hear from you soon. Best regards, Denis Xenos.
[See detailed information on the Libro d'Oro de la Noblesse de Chio by Philip Argenti, Oxford University Press (1955), 2 vols, limited edition, rare.]
- Subject: Beaulieu & The Special Operations Executive (SOE)
Date: 10-02-2000 16:45
Received: 15-02-2000 20:06
From: Graham Carter, grahamcarter1@[nospam]compuserve.com
To: Christopher A Long, CALong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher, During World War II, Beaulieu [Hampshire, England] was a restricted area. The reasons for this were four-fold. Firstly, it was a site for the repair and construction of small naval craft. Secondly, it was used by Neville Shute and the team developing new naval weapons. Thirdly, it was used for construction of parts of the Mulberry Harbour and later, the assembly of J-Force in preparation for the Normandy landings. Finally, it served as a Training School for operators from the SOE, before they were dropped into France or elsewhere in Europe to assist the Resistance forces in the constant battle against the invaders. To create the Training School, the Admiralty requisitioned 12 large houses on and around the Beaulieu Estate. Some were used as accommodation for the agents in training usually in national groups while a few at the heart of the estate were training centres, specialising in different skills.
[These skills included: (a) survival & living off the land, (b) weapons training, (c) wireless operating, (d) sabotage & explosives, (e) unarmed combat & silent killing, (f) codes, ciphers & secret inks, (g) agent recuitment and cell organisation, (h) spycraft & disguises, (i) security & resistance to interrogation (j) propaganda warfare, etc.]
Throughout the war, over 3,000 people were trained at Beaulieu before being sent abroad. They were drawn from 15 European nationalities, together with a handful of Americans and Canadians.
The history of the SOE here was researched thoroughly by the historian, Cyril Cunningham, some 50 years after the events recorded. It was a long and wearying search but the results, published by Pen and Sword in 1998 under the title Beaulieu: The Finishing School for Secret Agents by Cyril Cunningham (ISBN 0 85052 598 5), is the most complete account of this activity ever produced. (It is available from the Beaulieu Bookshop @[nospam] £16.95 + p&p.)
It was difficult for SOE to assemble the team of instructors for the special skills required. There were not many murderers or saboteurs on the job market, but here you can read the stories of the safe-breaker who found a necessary and responsible job, the gamekeeper from the Royal Estates who was skilled in survival techniques, and even Kim Philby, one of the able team of instructors, who became famous in later decades for his skill in quite another area of activity.
Here at Beaulieu, we will this year be celebrating the work of the SOE Training School and we will create a commemorative exhibition here from the Summer of 2000.
Graham Carter, Head of Education and Interpretation, Beaulieu.
- Subject: Mustapha
Date:09-02-2000 06:53
Received: 09-02-2000 13:41
From: Ulo Melton, meltdown@[nospam]sewergator.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Mr. Long, The letter concerning Mustapha Kunt has been floating around the internet for a while now. Can you tell if the letter is genuine and where it turned up? I ask because I have something of an interest in urban folklore. Any information you can provide is appreciated. Best regards, Ulo Melton. (Your Pipeline to Adventure)
- Subject: Ghost Tube Stations
Date: 04-02-00 18:25
Received: 04-02-00 21:45
From: vincent gregory, vincekim@[nospam]leachcroft95.freeserve.co.uk
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hey Chris Is there anyway of sneaking into these old and forgotten tube stations? I think it would be of great interest but I guess the local constabulary would take a dim view of breaking and entering. Have you already seen them for yourself - any pictures available? Cheers Vinny.
- Subject: Pandely Ancestors
Date: 03-02-2000 04:07
Received: 04-02-2000 00:51
From: Laura Wilson, fwilson@[nospam]texas.net
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Hello. In the midst of all your journalism pages, I only want to say that I was researching my Pandely ancestors and came up with your genealogy pages. I have not been able to find any references to any Pandely folk before. I am from New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and in the l800's or so, a Pandely came from Greece to New Orleans and intermarried with an old Greek-French family there. Perhaps Pandely is a common name in Greece I do not know. Anyway, congratulations on all your achievements. I really have no questions. Laura Wilson, Austin, Texas, USA.
- Subject: HMS Implacable / Foudroyant
Date: 25-01-00 16:48
Received: 25-01-00 18:10
From: Richard Ashton, rashton@[nospam]ozemail.com.au
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Greetings, I read your page about HMS Implacable with very great interest and would like to point towards it in the on-line autobiography I am laboriously putting together.
I spent, I think, five summer fortnights of 'camp' on board 'Foudroyant' just after WWll when she was managed, I think, by the Society for Nautical Research. The commander on board at that time was a Mr O'Loughlin (O'Loughlan?) and I remember my father 'discovered' her through an army buddy who chaired the committee I believe a Colonel Wylie who lived at (funny how you remember such trivia) 'Ship Tiger Flat' (maybe Tyger?), Tower House, Old Portsmouth, and who I visited once for tea and scones!
I remember 'Implacable' and going aboard her just the once, and souveniring a piece of rotted timber from on board which mother had for many years in a cabinet of this and that. I also remember the news-broadcast in which she was shown going down at Spithead (or Solent?). It was a bad moment for a young 15 year old (me). I am now 65, and have lived in Australia for the last 35 years.
I would appreciate being able to expand the brief paragraphs I have written about 'Foudroyant' in my on-line autobiography. Can you possibly give me a brief synopsis about what happened to her since say 1952 or so? She was moored to the south of the 'floating bridge' between Portsmouth and Gosport, which used to have a bill-board about "Brickwood's Sunshine - the bridge to good health" upon her side! Foudroyant was moored just a few hundred yards from H.M.S. Dolphin which I remember visiting and watching simulated escape hatch exits in a huge cylindrical tank.
My unfinished autobiography is at: [address]. Best regards to you, Sincerely, Richard Ashton.
- Subject: Eumorfopoulos
Date: 21-01-00 20:24
Received: 22-01-00 02:28
From: SusyYoung@[nospam]aol.com
To: Editor @ JTN, calong@dircon.co.uk
I am trying to gather some information on a family descended from 'escapees' from the Chios Massacre of 1882. The name is Scouloudi. The father, François 'Frank' was born in Marseille. He married Mimina 'Mina' Eumorfopoulos and they had 5 children (only 3 daughters survived infancy) between about 1897 and 1907. Mina's brother was the famous George Eumorfopoulos. But there is very little I have been able to find out about any relatives (or close friends) that might still be alive. If you have some information that might be relevant to me, please e-mail me, or even if you have some hints on potentially fruitful searching points. Thank you Susy Young
- Subject: Gen. Billy Mitchell
Date: 20-01-00 22:36
Received: 21-01-00 02:25
From: Floozey1@[nospam]aol.com
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Sir, My husband and I are doing research on Gen. Billy Mitchell. I came across your web page and wonder if you can help us. My husband's dad died 23 years ago and the only things he had in his possession were his clothes and a sack full of old pictures... There are pictures of plane crashes, troops which we believe are some of the first at Camp Kelly. We have pictures that we know were taken in France and a picture of the 'Frankfort & Shawmutt'. We have a picture of 'the Kicking Mule and Hat in the Ring'.
We have done extensive research on the insignias, as well as other things from WW1 like Billy Mitchell and his court-martial. We bought the book My Brother Bill & The Billy Mitchell Affair and we feel in our hearts that, when placed in a certain order, these photos represent what Billy was trying to tell the government so very long ago. We know that he was very brave and patriotic. His men loved him and believed in him and the American people loved him and believed in him. My husband and I bought this computer so we could find out all we could about these pictures and I think that we have done that.
I was born at Barksdale AFB in 1944, so I know what love of country, duty and honor are... I feel very proud that we have had the honor to research such a great man as Gen. Billy Mitchell and all that he did to make America great... my heart aches that his verdict still stands. When I look at these pictures of the plane crashes and see what our men went through and the struggle they had in trying to convince others who were not on the firing line my heart breaks. I wish there was something that I could do. I know that William [Mitchell] Jr. tried in 1957 or 1958 to have the verdict overturned and that it was denied. Do you know why? 'Billy' did so very much for this country and I just cannot understand why all this happened, unless it was jealousy and that makes it even worse.
I happened to hit your web page and just had to write and say how I felt and just wish that there was something that I could do. If you know how please let me know... This is really on my heart and I believe it is for a good cause. Thanks for the web site and I would love to hear from you, Sincerely, Foozey! (Suzie). P.S. We are trying to put some names to the faces of cadets because from reading the books on Gen. Mitchell we know that they went on to do greater things in WW2.
[NB. General 'Billy' Mitchell, a US fighter ace of World War l, was court-martialled in 1925 for insubordination when he persisted, against superior orders, to claim and demonstrate that:
1. Aircraft were capable of sinking ships
2. Air power would dominate any future war
He was not believed by the US government and died in the 1936. Six years later his predictions were fulfilled by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and air power indeed dominated World War ll. In 1948 he was posthumously awarded a special Congressional Medal of Honor in recognition of his courage. His story was told in the 1956 film The Trial of Billy Mitchell, starring Gary Cooper. See a feature compiled by his cousin, Christopher Long]
- Subject: Churchill
Date: 17-01-00 03:15am
Received: 17-01-00 17:22pm
From: John S. Moremen, JMore52451@[nospam]aol.com
To: calong@dircon.com
Dear Christopher - With my endlesss fascination of almost all things British, I recently finished the book My Early Life by Churchill. Although I have read most of what he has written and much written about him, I don't think I knew that he had seen so much action in war, i.e. not just as an observer but a participant. He apparently killed several men in India and in the cavalry charge at Omdermund which is something not many people have written about to my knowledge. In my judgement he was the man of the century and I am joined by other American friends in that appraisal. Did you meet Sir John Colville when you were doing the sorting out at Chartwell? His journal as the Private Secretary is wonderfully recited and very gossipy. John
- Subject: Gallipoli, Somme & Ypres on Video
Date: 12-01-00 01:22am
Received: 12-01-00 12:16pm
From: Keith Hartnell, Keith@[nospam]khartnell.freeserve.co.uk
To: Christopher A Long, calong@dircon.co.uk
We are a video distribution company in the north-east of England and have recently released a series of professionally made programmes for Tyne Tees Television (broadcast in December 1999). The Somme, Ypres and Gallipoli each run for approx 60 mins and include rare archive footage and photographs... Chris Hartnell, Hartnell Marketing.
[Prompted by the feature on World War l's Battle of The Somme]
- Subject: Re: Vlasto
Date: 02-01-00 09:23am
Received: 02-01-00 17:23pm
From: Jeff Sechiari, JSechiari@[nospam]rmcbp.co.uk
To: 'Christopher A Long', CALong@dircon.co.uk
Dear Christopher ...Since my earlier message I see that you have expanded your web site again, with even more of interest. I also read of your trials and tribulations in Chios. We went in May, after talking about doing so for many years, and had a wonderful time fortunately no contact with the police at all! We did pop into the Mavrogordato place while exploring the Kampos, but it was closed so we only saw the gardens. I was delighted to see that a few books are now being produced on the heritage of the Island in general and the Kampos in particular.
I don't know if you know Patrick Streeter? He has Vlasto ancestry and helped the Bishop [Timothy] with his book on the Greek Community in London a few years' ago. He has a wealth of knowledge about the Chiot families and also a fine collection of related books.
He and I have often spoken about how we would like to update Philip Argenti's Libro d'Oro but have never quite got round to considering how to go about it, other than noting that the net probably provides the best way to make contacts and communicate with them. I imagine that your site must have resulted in a lot of people getting in touch? My thoughts were along the lines of setting up a contact page so that people could enter their details if they so wished. This could include any additions (or dare I say corrections) to the family trees and histories in the Libro d'Oro, and anything else of interest. I'm sure that a lot of people out there have photographs that I would love to see, for example. There certainly seem to be many out there who have Chiot ancestors and who are keen to know more... Very best wishes for the New Year, I hope it's a good one for you. Jeff.
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